Putting Your Kids First

Hi…just found this out!! Go to www.nps.gov and find your local National Park Service building. You can get a FREE lifetime pass, if you have proof of a lifetime disability. Many people bring in a doctor’s note. I brought my son’s IEP in and it was fine. The pass is free and allows you entrance into any National Park site and 50% off of camping FOREVER, as long as the family is with the person with the disability. There are other benefits, too. Check it out.

Google your state and “state parks” and see what your state has to offer in the way of a pass for those with permanant disabilities. Each state is different, I am sure. So, I won’t say much on this subject.

Summer is a wonderful time to investigate the wonderful National and state parks and resources we are blessed to have in our beautiful USA!

Hard to believe August is here. Time is flying. Enjoy, before school starts again!

There has been a thread going on…in an autism group that I rarely participate in, yet get a few emails a week that are  posted…usually the posts are people looking for docs or therapists. This occurrence that I am about to tell you occurred before, too, when I would write on OASIS’ site.

My goal that you ALL know is to help families one autistic ( or ADHD, Celiac, other disorders) at a time by helping them with diet information, answer questions, offering my FREE 4 page guide and so much more. It’s very confusing at first and people need help.

What really makes me SO angry is those who refuse to even TRY the diet. They put up a FRONT and YELL at me for trying to have them see that it CAN WORK! They tell me that I have only one opinion and it is NOT always RIGHT. They see zero reason to start it, investigate it, inquire about it or look into it.  It makes me so sad! Going GFCF and often soy Free and sometimes rice free, and/or corn free and/or yeast free and/ or sugar free, etc. makes ENOURMOUS changes in millions of children worldwide. I have helped families from all over the US, S. America, Canada, Caribbean, S. Africa, NZ, Australia, China, India, all over Europe and more…. and I am willing to continue to do this for anyone who needs my help!

My passion in life is to ALWAYS help others….it’s in my blood…it’s who I am. I cannot tell you all, those who have written to thank me and especially those who say the music to my ears, “Thanks to you (and others, too on the boards) my son can speak, thanks to you my son’s sensory issues have vanished, thanks to you my son’s poop is normal, thanks to you my son has no more meltdowns, thanks to you my son does not stim or bang his head, thanks to you my son sleeps well now”..ETC ETC ETC……These things warm my heart!

So many of you KNOW this DOES work and works well for SO MANY….stats say 65%-70% of kids on the spectrum have success.

Why or why won’t some people just TRY it to give their child all of the benefits in life that they can achieve? Were any of us thrilled to receive a dx of AUTISM for our beloved children? Doubtful!!!  But how many of us have searched and researched for help, for answers to make our kids more typical? Did we all think the diet sounded odd, strange, silly, impossible?? But ..did we persevere anyway??

Thanks for listening. So many blame me for being judgemental. I AM NOT. I just want people to try to help their kids and I want to help pave their path as best as I can. THANKS, I just needed to get this out!

Summer is flying by way too quickly…doesn’t it always…yet school seems to drag on!  Gas prices are hurting people’s vacation plans…which is a shame! We are doing some day trips and staying local swimming, library programs, museums, beach and watching a lot of movies. We got Netflix free for a month…so we are all taking turns queing up movies that we want to watch. I have become a HUGE Steve Carell fan!  Dan in Real Life was the BEST movie! He did great in Little Miss Sunshine, too. Very different part. He is a great actor…can do many different types of rolls. I am not a TV person..so I never saw him on the Office….guess I need to now.

Best part of summer is no homework. My son has so much of it, being in honors classes and it never ends!  So, having fun and doing educational things without having to do reports is just great!

I heard about Mark’s song from the GFCF Yahoo Kids site http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/GFCFKids/messages where I spend millions of hours helping those with GFCF concerns, questions and more.

 Once I heard Mark’s son, “Missing Pieces” I just bawled and I  KNEW it had to be done in American Sign Language. It is such a beautiful song about hope for kids with autism. Mark wrote this song with his friend, Tim Calhoun. Read more about their story: http://www.autismnela.org/missingpeices.html  Tim’s son, Nathaniel is one of many children, along with my son, Noah, who have lost so many autistic traits due to the GFCF diet and other interventions. THERE IS HOPE!

Also see this: http://www.96seconds.com/frink/index.html ….you can hear “Missing Pieces” here! Be prepared to cry!

Mark’s voice is amazing and the words in his songs even more amazing!

Mark has asked me to give him a video of me signing “Missing Pieces” for his web site I GLADLY said YES, of course.

In fact…I am going to have Noah put together a video with pictures of kids with ASD! We are going to go places! We are all making a difference for autism awareness!

Check out this web site. They have great GFCF foods.

They have Cassava chips (tastes like potato chips), cookies and bars. www.aricofoods.com

Find out where to purchase these yummy snacks!

 Newsletter for April 2008

http://emailer.emailroi.com/r.pl?eead4WiBnXtqechD/7d61adecd6fb6c66#X1

HI….the weather is warming up in most of the US. Many are still having serious snow issues. But I am sure it will be clearing up within a months time.

Here in California, it’s flip flop and capri/shorts weather. In the 80’s all week.

Many children have finished spring break , or are about to begin next week. I love school breaks, gives me a chance to sleep in, relax, have fun.  DOING NO HOMEWORK– being the best part for the kids.  Also, we get to do day trips and have fun! This year we won’t do any big vacation, just little mini trips.

I have a book to finish up, as requested by a publisher. Exciting times. Spring is a time to move forward, a time of growth, a time of beauty. The flowers are blooming, sweet floral smells are in the air. The sun is shining…or will be for most soon, grab that vitamin D, get outside, feel the warmth, go for a hike, meet up with some friends, start thinking about getting into summer clothing, and most importantly have fun!!!

HI fans. Here is the latest. Donna Williams has agreed to write a foreward. RAH! Check out her great web site and blog www.DonnaWilliams.net http://blog.donnawilliams.net/   for more info on her and her 9 books on autism and her life as a women with autism.

My literary agent has handed my book proposal to at least 16 editors of publishing companies.

I know things will be moving forward. This book is in very high demand. I have moms in line waiting, as they need my book now to help them get w/the program and help their children with ASD.

Martha Stewart asked several members of her staff to design a magazine idea for her to start. If you go to her blog, you can view the 7 top finalists , who came up with great ideas. Scroll down to Alexis..I LOVE her proposal…and it’s winning. If you vote for this…..it will win for sure. You have until Feb 7th. You can vote once a day! Once you vote, you can see where your entry is, within the 7 listed.

This could be a great place for me to have a column….it would do wonders for my book!

http://blogs1.marthastewart.com/martha/?rsc=ts_Homepage_Homepage

I know many of you are interested in buying my book. I just got an email from someone thinking it was due out THIS January….don’t I wish….no such luck!

But we are moving forward. I had three agents interested. But, as of now I have one, who is VERY interested and VERY motivated! He has been in contact with many editors/publishers and so far at least two are INTERESTED!!!

I have to submit a detailed proposal, get some well known connections (celebrites, big names in autism) and then move forward.

Stay tuned. This is getting exciting. I wish the book WAS here, as so many parents contact me daily needing the book and the info I have to “pay forward.”

Lately, I’ve been hearing from so many families interested in starting or continuing the GFCF diet. I get at least three…often more requests for my four page starter guide every day. Then I get follow up with questions that they have. It is so terrific to see this and be able to pay it forward! So, feel free to send those questions to me!

I sure hope the publishers that my literary agent is contacting see the HUGE value and need for my book,  Bad Food for Good Kids (more info on my web site). Clearly, I have emailed my 4 page guide to over 1000 families. Gosh..probably several 1000. There are children leaving the nasty world of autism because of me. Is there any greater joy than that!?!?

Keep checking my web site and blog….hopefully in the VERY near future, I’ll have some good news to post re: my book.

I am having so many great thoughts and feelings about what 2008 will bring.

Stay tuned…greatness is on the way!